Squad news

DEPORTIVO & SOUTH AMERICA

01 Jul 2012It seemed that Deportivo wasn’t going to count with South American players ahead of the season 2012/13, but the renewal of Argentine goalie Lux is keeping the legend alive. And it’s that within the last 31 years Depor has always had a South American flavor.

South American players are now a classic at Deportivo La Coruña; within the last 31 years the Galician club has always had players at the first team coming from that region of the world, mainly coming from three countries: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

During the 1980’s, and after the season that Depor spent at Segunda B (1980-81), the club relied in Argentine players and in this sense it was possible to watch players like striker Carlos Brizzola and midfielder Juan Carlos Verón performing for the Blanquiazul outfit.

At the end of that decade Depor turned to Uruguayan players, in this sense the defensive sector was led by men like Martin Lasarte and Gustavo Loureiro. The moment of the Brazilians arrived after the promotion to Primera División on the season 1990/91, in this way Mauro Silva, Bebeto and Donato joined the club and converted it into the famous “Super Depor”.

The pinnacle of the South American influence at Depor’s first team arrived with the season 1997/98, at the time the team was coached by Carlos Alberto Silva and then by José Manuel Corral, and there were nine South Americans: 5 Brazilians (Mauro Silva, Conceiçao, Djalminha, Donato and Luizao), two Uruguayans (Manteca Martinez and Abreu), one Argentine (Scaloni) and one Venezuelan (Carlos Garcia).

On that season Depor had other fourteen foreigners coming from other countries in Europe and Africa; Deportivo only ended 12th at the standings and it was considered as a failure, so since that day the club has reduced the participation of foreigners at the first team

Still, the two decades of glory of Deportivo, in which the club clinched one liga title, two Copa Del Rey trophies and three Supercopas, were marked by the presence of South American players that contributed to these achievements. Important men like Djalminha, Turu Flores, Scaloni, Pandiani or the same Rivaldo shone wearing the Blanquiazul shirt and marked an era of success.

Within the last decade, Depor has returned to rely in Argentine and Uruguayan players, though their efficiency has been more discrete; still the fans were able to watch players like Coloccini and Diego Colotto, without forgetting Brazilian Filipe Luis.